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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Why I Love The Internet

In the course of conducting research for this blog, I've come across an assortment of odd, interesting and just plain bizarre artifacts. Today I'd like to share a few with you.

First up the photo at right of Elvis Presley and Liberace. Two Pop Culture Icons forever frozen in time. Check out the King - the epitome of cool, jacket collar up, tie askew, classic Elvis half-snarl smile. Staring into the camera as if he's saying "I'm the King. No matter what the future holds, no matter how many peanut butter and banana sandwiches I snarf down, no matter how many drugs I ingest, I've still got Ann-Margret and Priscilla waiting for me down the line and this is how I'll be remembered." Next to him a smiling, genial Liberace. Elvis' polar opposite. The King of Rock and Roll meets the King of Schmaltz. One the dream of teenage girls, the other the crush of middle-aged women. Liberace, boyish grin saying "It's OK to like me, it's safe to like me. I just want to make you happy".

Our next exhibit is this brilliant ad from 1988 for the Nikon N4004 Camera. There was text under the photos of Moe Howard (of Three Stooges fame) and Albert Einstein (of Theory of Relativity fame) which read in part "You don't have to be a genius to use the Nikon N4004"

Presenting Trigger, beloved equine companion to Singing Cowboy Star and restaurateur Roy Rogers. Trigger was a golden palomino who could do over 100 tricks including walking 150 steps on his hind legs. Easily the most famous horse in Pop Culture History, he appeared in over 80 movies and four seasons of Roy's 1950's TV show. What's wrong Trigger? You seem sort of stiff. Oh that's right, upon his death in 1965, Trigger's hide was stretched over a plaster likeness and put on permanent display in the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum (and I bet you thought Roy callously had him stuffed). Happy Trials Trigger. I wonder how Titan would look in my living room?

Finally, like something out of a B horror movie, we've got wax casts of Liberace's hands. Scary and fascinating at the same time. Be afraid....be very afraid...beware the Hands of Liberace! OK, I promise no more references to Mr. Showmanship for a while.